chrispy1546
Aquarium Advice Newbie
- Joined
- Nov 13, 2013
- Messages
- 3
Hi everyone! First post here, I've been following forums for a while getting advice, but I've got a moderate issue that I've been struggling with and I figured I'd post it here to get feedback. There have been some relatively drastic changes to my tank in the past 4-6 months for various reasons. I acknowledge that those facts are probably important, but at the same time I don't want to inundate you with events that may not have bearing today (though I'm glad to recount those if necessary).
Tank context:
30gal planted gravel tank (swords, beleheri)
approx. 4 lbs driftwood
one bubble bar set at low
84 Fahrenheit
--------------
pH range: 6.8 to 7.2
ammonia: 0
nitrite: 0
nitrate: <5 ppm
--------------
2 discus, 2 adult angels, 2 juvenile angels
2 pleco (candystripe and rubber)
2 corycats
2 japonica shrimp
"Problem":
pH is a little higher than what was the norm previously, at about 6.5. I typically do one to two 35% WC a week, depending on my schedule. I noticed that I started to get consistently higher pH readings within days after adding the japonica about 2 months ago. Since then, I've attempted filtering peat moss. The peat moss helps, but the tannins released are nuts (not a big fan), and worse, the effectiveness seems to decrease substantially over the course of the next 2-4 weeks, causing pH to rise again, at which point prompting a replacement, and the process repeats. About a week ago, I added a new piece of driftwood about 1.5 lbs worth where my LFS recommended this would help me as a replacement to the peat. I've since removed the peat which was at the end of its effective cycle and had only the two pieces of driftwood. The day after a WC, I typically see pH around 6.8 (also during day when lights are off but moderate natural light) and it gradually rises over the course of the next 3-4 days to about 7.2, maybe a tad bit higher. I do WC with water straight from tap treated with Kordon's NovAqua Plus Water Conditioner. My tap water should be pH 7.0 but to make sure, I'll be leaving some water out for 24-48 hrs and retesting that pH to ensure my baseline pH.
The fish seem generally happy with healthy appetites. I'm concerned for the pH swings, the higher pH to keep a robust planted tank (a pH crash about 4 months back devastated my plants which prompted a series of events happening to correct it), and the fact that it's out of the optimal pH for the fish I have (though I recognize that consistency is more important than "optimal" pH).
I'd like to elicit feedback and questions to try and better understand why my pH seems to continually rise, and what could be some good practices to keep it sub-7.0.
Thanks everyone!
Tank context:
30gal planted gravel tank (swords, beleheri)
approx. 4 lbs driftwood
one bubble bar set at low
84 Fahrenheit
--------------
pH range: 6.8 to 7.2
ammonia: 0
nitrite: 0
nitrate: <5 ppm
--------------
2 discus, 2 adult angels, 2 juvenile angels
2 pleco (candystripe and rubber)
2 corycats
2 japonica shrimp
"Problem":
pH is a little higher than what was the norm previously, at about 6.5. I typically do one to two 35% WC a week, depending on my schedule. I noticed that I started to get consistently higher pH readings within days after adding the japonica about 2 months ago. Since then, I've attempted filtering peat moss. The peat moss helps, but the tannins released are nuts (not a big fan), and worse, the effectiveness seems to decrease substantially over the course of the next 2-4 weeks, causing pH to rise again, at which point prompting a replacement, and the process repeats. About a week ago, I added a new piece of driftwood about 1.5 lbs worth where my LFS recommended this would help me as a replacement to the peat. I've since removed the peat which was at the end of its effective cycle and had only the two pieces of driftwood. The day after a WC, I typically see pH around 6.8 (also during day when lights are off but moderate natural light) and it gradually rises over the course of the next 3-4 days to about 7.2, maybe a tad bit higher. I do WC with water straight from tap treated with Kordon's NovAqua Plus Water Conditioner. My tap water should be pH 7.0 but to make sure, I'll be leaving some water out for 24-48 hrs and retesting that pH to ensure my baseline pH.
The fish seem generally happy with healthy appetites. I'm concerned for the pH swings, the higher pH to keep a robust planted tank (a pH crash about 4 months back devastated my plants which prompted a series of events happening to correct it), and the fact that it's out of the optimal pH for the fish I have (though I recognize that consistency is more important than "optimal" pH).
I'd like to elicit feedback and questions to try and better understand why my pH seems to continually rise, and what could be some good practices to keep it sub-7.0.
Thanks everyone!
